Wild Goose Farm is a farm complex near

Shepherdstown, West Virginia Shepherdstown is a town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, located in the lower Shenandoah Valley along the Potomac River. Home to Shepherd University, the town's population was 1,531 at the time of the 2020 census. The town wa ...

, established in the early 19th century. The farm includes a large, irregularly-arranged main house, a Pennsylvania-style

bank barn A bank barn or banked barn is a style of barn which is accessible from the ground, on two separate levels. Often built into the side of a hill or bank, the upper and the lower floors could both be accessed from the ground, one area at the top of ...

, a tenant house, and outbuildings including a

spring house A spring house, or springhouse, is a small building, usually of a single room, constructed over a spring. While the original purpose of a springhouse was to keep the spring water clean by excluding fallen leaves, animals, etc., the enclosing str ...

, smoke house, ice house,

corn crib A corn crib or corncrib is a type of granary used to dry and store corn. It may also be known as a cornhouse or corn house. Overview After the harvest and while still on the cob, corn is placed in the crib either with or without the husk. The ...

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

and a decorative pavilion.

Description

The complex is approached through metal gates along a tree-lined lane bordered by a stone wall. The main house has an unbalanced composition, unusual for its time, that anticipates late-19th century compositions. The wood-framed house has a two-story square-columned portico on the east elevation, with a Chippendale-style

Baluster, balustrade on the second level spanning three of five bays. There are six columns and five

dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a Roof pitch, pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the ...

s, on an

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

-cut stone base. Three large brick

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typical ...

s project from the long roof ridge through the metal roofing material. This elevation is not the main entrance of the house, which is on the south side. A

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

ed oriel bay projects on the first level of the north side next to the east portico. The overall composition of the house is reminiscent of architecture in New Orleans, where Rezin Shepherd had lived. The other sides of the house have complex elevations reflecting the house's history of additions and alterations into the 20th century, all on rubble stone foundations. Wild Goose springhouse WV1

The main entrance is at the east end of the south elevation, with a Greek Revival treatment opening into a reception and stair hall along the east wing, with an opening on the east side into the east wing ballroom or

parlor A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necessary ...

. A dining room is on the west side of the hall, followed by a

billiard room A billiard room (also billiards room, or more specifically pool room, snooker room) is a recreation room, such as in a house or recreation center, with a billiards, pool or snooker table (The term "billiard room" or "pool room" may also be use ...

and a series of kitchen spaces. The kitchen area appears to be the oldest section of the house. The upstairs are divided into bedrooms that largely reflect the original layout of the house. The third floor was finished in the early 20th century, when the

s were added. The complex includes several notable outbuildings, including a springhouse in the rough form of a

Greek temple Greek temples (, semantically distinct from Latin , " temple") were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in ancient Greek religion. The temple interiors did not serve as meeting places, since the sacrifices and ritu ...

. Built about 1845, the building is set into the ground, surrounded by stone retaining walls. The springhouse itself is constructed of ashlar stone

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

, with a projecting portico supported by square columns. The interior is divided into three spaces, with a channel running through for the spring water. Other contributing buildings include a stone building (c. 1845) believed to be an office, an octagonal

pagoda A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist, but some ...

-like frame "sentry station" (c. 1880), believed to be a place for a timekeeper, a brick ice house (c. 1911), a stone pump house (c. 1911), a stone smokehouse (c. 1845), a six-bay carriage shed (c. 1845), and a tenant house (c. 1880). The complex includes several agricultural buildings, including a large Pennsylvania bank barn, built between 1842 and 1845. The lowest level of the barn features unusually fine stone masonry, with a stone-arched opening leading out of the stone-walled barnyard. Other buildings include a wood-frame poultry house (c. 1880), and a frame

(c. 1880). The property includes an unusual number of fitted and finished stone walls.

History

The Wild Goose property was subdivided from a larger tract in the early 19th century, when John Stipp sold to his son George. Passing through two more owners, the property was purchased by Van Swearingen, owner of the adjoining River View farm, in 1829. In 1838 Swearingen's heirs sold much of the land to Charles M. Shepherd. The Shepherd family, descended from Abraham Shepherd, founder of Shepherdstown, owned much of the land in the area. Rezin Davis Shepherd was the eldest son of Abraham, who had spent much of his life as a merchant in New Orleans. Henry Shepherd, the next son, operated a livestock breeding operation at Springwood near Shepherdstown, in partnership with Rezin. Youngest son Charles managed the Shepherd properties in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Rezin moved back to

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

in the early 1840s, having bought Charles's assets, including land, livestock and slaves. By 1846, Rezin had built a new house on the Wild Goose tract, presumed to be the present

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

. The estate reached about in size by the time Rezin Shepherd entered retirement at Wild Goose, around 1850. Rezin died in 1865 at 80. Rezin's daughter Ellen (Brooks) and her two sons Peter Brooks and Shepherd Brooks inherited the property. In 1866 Shepherd bought the entire property and established it as Wild Goose Farm. In 1871 Shepherd Brooks sold the farm to Henry Shepherd, Jr. for $30,000. Henry Jr. moved to the farm in 1872. Henry Shepherd died in 1891, deeding the farm to four sons. The three younger sons sold their shares to eldest son

Rezin Davis Shepherd Rezin Davis Shepherd, known professionally as R. D. MacLean (March 7, 1859 – June 28, 1946) was an American actor. Shepherd was born on March 7, 1859, to Henry Shepherd II and his wife Azemia. As the son of a prosperous landowner, Shepherd bec ...

for $24,531, for a total property value of $38,000. The second Rezin D. Shepherd was a stage actor, using the stage name of R.D. McLean. When McLean became involved in movies in the 20th century, he sold the core of Wild Goose to Edwin S. Jarrett for $36,000 in 1911. Jarrett used the property primarily as a retreat, with a tenant farmer. During Jarrett's ownership, he added Colonial Revival features to the house and raised the roof of the east wing to furnish a third floor, adding the

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

d porch and opening the lower level of the east wing into a single ballroom. Jarrett died in 1940, after which the property changed hands several times. It was consistently used as a country retreat by successive owners, including NASA engineer Robert Mos

during the 1960s, and by West Virginia governor

Gaston Caperton William Gaston Caperton III (born February 21, 1940) is an American politician who served as the 31st governor of West Virginia from 1989 to 1997. He was president of the College Board, which administers the nationally recognized SAT and Advanced ...

from 1998. Wild Goose Farm was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on April 20, 2018.

References

External links

About Wild Goose Farm
{{commons category, Wild Goose Farm Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Farms on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Houses in Jefferson County, West Virginia Federal architecture in West Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, West Virginia